This page explains how to perform Balducci levitation. It is the simplest yet one of the most powerful tricks you can perform. Your friends will drop their jaws in shock like they've seen a ghost and you will be the star of the day.

Balducci levitation takes a few minutes to learn! No
gimmicks or preparation is required. Your friends will be amazed like crazy, and everybody will perceive you as some kind of super-natural human being
after this. This is actually the same trick as seen in David Blaine videos on YouTube. This site will explain how to do it and give a few tips on how to make the illusion better.

What will the spectators see?

The spectators will see you standing normally, in vertical position. Then, your feet will slowly appear to take off the ground level, until you are totally disconnected from mother Earth. You levitate for about 5-10 seconds and then slowly land back. Yes, it is possible!

What is the secret to Balducci levitation, then?

The trick is to stand some 10 feet or more facing back from the spectators, and to take a 45-degree angle, with your legs fully gathered (see the image I made below). Then, you slowly raise yourself on toes of the foot that is further from spectators. The other foot, visible to spectators, is raised entirely. The spectators will see your closer foot, and the heel of the farther foot raising up. You stay like that for a 5-10 seconds, as long as you can balance, and then slowly go down. That's enough to make even the hardcore non-beleivers shocked!

Practicing Balducci levitation

When trying Balducci levitation for the first time ask a friend to assist you. You won't impress him for sure, but once you learn Balducci levitation, everyone else will be amazed! Ask a friend what is the best angle and distance. Once you calibrate this on your own body, you will know exactly what position to take when performing Balducci levitation in public, no matter what the configuration of space is. The only important thing is that the spectators are all in one place; if only one of them is separated at different angle, your trick will be unveiled.

Here is the picture of me performing Balducci levitation; I made an animation of two consecutive images:

Also, I uploaded a video of me performing this on YouTube so you can see Balducci levitation video in real time. You can see the tip of my right foot at the beginning. I keep getting emails where people are telling me how I did not shoot the trick from the right angle.I did this on purpose, so you guys can see what is the point. When you perform it, rotate your body more to the right, in order to hide the right foot, unlike me in this video.This video is for instructional purposes only, not for entertaining.

Performing Balducci levitation as good as possible

The effect of this trick could be amplified through some introduction story, background music, proper atmosphere and so on.

This is the perfect story, I have tried it on countless occasions and it succeeded every single time:

First, I usually bring the topic of levitation totally randomly into conversation, like: "Have you seen the Discovery channel story about how dolphins can read people's minds?". Then, usually the conversation will go further, with opinions on supernatural things and unseen energy and so on... Then I'll go with "I did not beleive in these things really until I met a Shaman guy few years ago on the beach. He was originally from Finland and when his mother died he went to Bhutan where he learned various Shamanic techniques. Well, we hanged out for a while and he introduced me to a special medidation technique, which can make you levitate above the ground level. I practiced it for six months until I finally managed to do it. Blah blah..."

At this point of conversation, some smart ass will probably go with "Noo way, so you say you can actually levitate? Give me a break..." You should calmly reply, "Yes. I can." Then they will ask you to do it. You should hesistate to perform it for a while at this point. This will magnify the effect later when you start to levitate! I usually say something like "Well, I don't know... there is much noise/crowd here... I cannot concetrate... the flow of energy is blocked a lot... but I could try, though I cannot guarantee I will succeed..."

This is the perfect introduction, since everybody will think "Nah, he's just been fooling with us... of course now he will fail to do it, and he will blame XY for that." But you will surprise them all.

Go to a good position. Do not forget that spectators should be grouped in one place. If they are not, ask them to do it. Explain them how that helps you gain the "HULA" energy of the universe (I've just made up this HULA word, whatever). When you are in the position, do not perform Balducci levitation immediately! First raise your hands up, like you are collecting this energy thing. Then put them down, and repeat this ritual a few times. Then, raise your hands in the level of shoulders, and slowly raise yourself on toes of the farther foot. Stay there for a few seconds, and then slowly go back. Calmly turn yourself to spectators, and do not show any emotion, whatever their reaction is.

If you perform Balducci levitation this way, amazing results will be inevitable. People will be shocked, some of them might even scream. I've performed Balducci levitation hundreds of times, and every time I feel great like the first time. If you like magic tricks and the idea of entertaining other people, this trick is gold.

Music and other background effects

If you perform Balducci levitation at the comfort of your own home, you will have the opportunity to additionaly enhance the wowness of this effect. One ingredient that always adds a lot to spectator's experience is music. I always use ambient music, and it has never failed. Use slow ambient music without beats. I usually play the album "Substrata" by Biosphere, or John Serrie's "And The Stars Go With You". These tracks are perfect for performing Balducci levitation.

Use incense sticks to enrich the atmosphere. Light them before even mentioning the topic of levitation so it does not look like a setup.

Various gadgets from India shop all over the place will enhance the effect, too. All these things will help, but remember, good story and correct performing are crucial.

Final words

Balducci levitation is one of the best tricks for a begginer magician to learn. You get the most impressive effect for a tiny bit of your time and practice. You will amaze every one of your spectators and they will declare you as the man of the hour, no matter what the size and profile of audience is. The feeling you will expirience after that is priceless.

If you are interested in learning more magic tricks, especially street magic "David Blaine" style, check out a book called Master Mentalism . Everything I know, including Balducci levitation, I learned from this book. I personally like magic tricks that can be performed everywhere, without any gimmicks, cards, or other traditional tools, and "Master Mentalism" is packed with those.